Bending-machine.



No. 823,394. PATENTED JUNE 12, 1906. G. H. OLOSTERMAN & G. J. KUEHNLE.

BENDI NG MACHINE. APPLICATION FILBD\SBPT.22,1905.

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No. 823,394. PATENTED JUNE 12, 1906. 0. H. GLOSTBRMAN & G. J. KUEHNLB. BENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SBPT.Z2.1905.

2 SHEETS SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES H. OLOSTERMAN AND GEORGE J. KUEHNLE, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

SENDING-MACHINE Specification of Letters Patent.

PatentedJ'une 12, 1906.

A li ati fil d September 22, 1905. Serial No. 279,639-

To (ZZZ whom it may concern;

Be it known that we, CHARLES CLosTEn- MAN and GEORGE J. KUEHNLE, citizens of the United States, residing at Cincinnati, Hamilton county, State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bending-Machines; and we do declare the following to be a clear, full, and exact description of the invention, attention being called to the accompanying drawings, with the reference characters marked thereon, which form also a part of this specification.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in bending-machines,

particularly such used for bending wood.

It consists. of certain features of construction as they, together with the operation, are hereinafter described and claimed, and as illustrated in the accompanying two sheets of drawings, in which- Figure 1 shows a top view, and Fig. 2 a front View, of the machine. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on line 3 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 in a similar view taken on line 4 4 of Fig. 1 shows one of the clamps whereby the wood after bent to shape is held to the form. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section of the machine, taken below the top of the same as it is shown in Fig. 1, and shows more particularly the machine elements used for operating the machine. Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the ma chine, showing more particularly the left side thereof.

The machine as shown is constructed for 3 5 the purpose of bending wood used in the manufacture of furnitureas, for instance, in the formation of the rear legs of a chair, gvheiie they also extend upwardly to form the In the drawings, 10 indicates the straight pieces of wood intended to be bent to form each a combined leg and back. Before operated upon by the machine this wood is usually steamed to facilitate the procedure and to obviate breakage. The pieces are first placed against the edges of a form 11 and held at one of their ends against this form by a clamp 12, as shown. The other diverging ends are acted upon by the upper ends of bending-arms 13, rollers 14 being referably interposed thereat to accommoate the limited sliding movement which takes place when the arms move against the wood and toward each other to bend this latedges of the same by the bending-arms, after ter over the edges of the form, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. This constitutes the operation of the machine. Additional clamps 15, shaped as shown in Fig. 4, are placed over the form and over the wood held against the which these latter are moved apart and into their normal position, as shown. The form, with the wood held against it by clamps 12 and 15, is now removed and replaced by another one, after which the procedure is repeated, there being preferably a number of forms at hand, so that the wood may remain in position a sufficient length of time until it has set to shape. For round wood, forms with grooved edges, as shown at 16, are preferab'ly used to more securely hold the wood andprevent it from slipping ofi. The forms are supported on top of the machine-table 17 and held in a manner to permit quick change. For such purpose we provide a hole 18 in the forms fitted to receive a pin 19, projecting upwardly from the machine-table. To provide for possibility of adjustment vertically, to accommodate thicker or thinner forms for various sizes of wood, an intermediate base 21 is provided, which directly rests on the top of the table with the form above it. It is securely attached in place, but so as to permit removal for interchange with other bases of different thicknesses. Forms of different shapes and curvature may of course be also readily interchanged. To accommodate inaccuracies in motion or adustments, rollers 14 are carried yieldingly on arms 13, being for such purpose mounted on shanks 22, which have each a flange 23, both being fitted into a housing 24 at the upper end of each arm. Springs 25 are provided behind each flange, and a nut 26 is seated on the outer projecting end of each shank and against the closed end of the housing to adjust the position -of the rollers and the action of the springs.

The bending-arms are mounted each on the side of a rack'27, which racks are fitted into guideways 28 in the front 29 of the machinefra-me. They are disposed parallel to each other and held within these guideways in a manner best shown in Fig. 6. They are moved from one of their extreme positions into their other one-that is, from their normal position to the one shown in dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 2, in which arms 13 act upon the woodand returned again to normal position by a pinion 31, simultaneously engaging both racks and mounted upon a shaft 32, whereby it is alternately rotated first in one direction and then in another. Suitable ma chine elements are used for this purpose,- which are preferably arranged as follows: A gear-wheel 33 is mounted on shaft 32 to rotate this latter. An intermediate gear-train, consisting of a pinion 34 and of a gear-wheel 35, both mounted on a shaft 36, act upon gearwheel 33. Gear-wheel 35 is rotated by a pinion 37 on a shaft 38, which constitutes the drive-shaft proper, gear-train 34 35 being merelyinterposed to increase the power. Shaft 38 is rotated alternately by either one of two loosely-mounted pulleys 39 41, the particular pulley being at the time operatively connected to shaft 38 by a suitable customary clutch device 42, slidably mounted upon shaft 38 between the two pulleys thereon and positively connected to' said shaft for'rotation. Pulleys 39 and 41 rotate in opposite directions, so that when pulley 39 rotates shaft 38 pinion 31 will rotate to move the bending-arms in one direction and when pulley 41'rotates shaft 38 the bending-arms will be moved in opposite directions. Pulleys 39 and 41 may be actuated from the one source of power-that is, driven from the same shaftin which case the belt which drives one of the pulleys is twisted. Clutch 42 is enga ed by the usual fork 43, connected to the en of an operating-rod 44, whereby it is manipulated, which manipulation may be positively and direct by hand in either direction. It is preferable, however, and in order to prevent accidents to have manipulation automatic at least in one direction, and so that operation is dependent'on and controlled by the movement of the bendingarms and automatically stopped at the proper moment when these arms have done their work and when rollers 14 are in the position shown in dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 2. For such purpose rod 44 is connected to an angle-lever 45, extending outwardly and connected to a shifter-rod 46, slidably supported. A stop 47 adjustably mounted on the latter, is acted upon at the proper time by a trip 48, carried by one of the racks in a manner to slide rod 46 to the right, swinging thereby lever 45 and moving clutch 42 out of operative engagement with pulley 39 andinto the intermediate position shown in Fig. 5, thereby terminating movement of the bending-arms and leaving them in the position shown in dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 2. To return the bending-arms to their normal position, the outwardly-extending part 49 of angle-lever 45, which serves as a hand-lever, is swung still further to the right, whereby clutch 42 is acaused to engage the other pulley 41, which rotates in a direction opposite to that of pulley 39, and whereby the arms are started to move in opposite directionsthat is, apart. This is, however, not done until additional clamps 15 have been placed (see Fig. 1, dotted lines) to hold the wood to the form and in the shape as imparted by the bendingarms. Another stop 51, mounted similarly to stop 47, is encountered in due time by.trip 48 whereby the clutch is again moved to its intermediate inoperative position. After a new form with wood to be bent is placed in position of the one removed another bending o eration is started by swinging lever 49 to t e left to move clutch 42 again into engagement with pulley 39. Stops 47 and 51 are of course adjusted to provide in each case for a sufficient movement to suit a certain style or particular size of forms which are used at the time. The arrangement and adjustment of positions and of movements could be such that the clutch moves directly from one pulley into contact with the other one, thus making the operation of the machine a continuous one. This would, however, require close attention on the part of the operator, particularly in the placing of the additional clamps 15, which hold the wood to the form after bent and which if not in position at the precise timethat is, before the bendingarms move apart-would permit the wood to spring back again to its original shape. It would also require rapid handling of the forms, notwithstanding the fact that they may be rapidly exchanged, because not being positively attached and merely centered by pin 19. They are simply placed on this pin, no particular attention being necessary to bring them in an exact central position, because the equal movement of each arm equalizes any irregularities in placing. Base 21 remains the same for a certain series of forms used at the time and need not be adjusted unless the series is changed to forms which are thicker or thinner.

Having described our invention, we claim as new 1. In a bending-machine, the combination of a general machine-frame, a form detachably supported thereon, means to temporarily hold the material to be bent to this form, bending-arms one on each side of the form, racks arranged parallel to each other on which they are carried, guideways provided on the machine-frame in which these racks are supported for movement, and gearing to simultaneously move these racks.

2. In a bending-machine, the combination of a general machine-frame provided with guideways in its front, racks fitted for movement into these ways, bending-arms projecting upwardly from these racks and terminating above the top of the machine, a form detachably supported on this top, a pinion adapted to simultaneously engage and move both racks and means to rotate this pinion alternately in both directions.

3. In a bending-machine, the combination of a general machine-frame, a form detachably supported thereon, means to temporarily hold the material to be bent to this form, bending-arms one on each side of the form provided with yieldingly-held rollers at one of their ends, racks on which they are carried, guideways provided on the machineframe in which these racks are supported for movement, and gearing to simultaneously move these racks.

4. In a bending-machine, the combination of a general machine-frame provided with guideways in its front, racks fitted for movement into these ways, bending-arms projecting upwardly from these racks and terminating above the top of the machine, a form detachably supported on this top, and an intermediate base removably supported on this latter to adjust the position of the form with reference to the bending-arms, a pinion adapted to simultaneously engage and move both racks and means to rotate this pinion alternately in both directions.

5. In a bending-machine, the combination of a general machine -frame, oppositelyplaced bending-arms, means to temporarily support the material to be bent between them, racks on which these bending-arms are carried, guiding means for them provided on the machine-frame, gearing to move these racks in either direction, machine elements to actuate this gearing, a trip carried by one of the racks and means adapted to be acted upon by this trip for controlling the operation of the machine elements mentioned.

6. A machine for bending elongated pieces of wood in pairs, comprising the combination of a detachably-supported form, bendingarms placed opposite each edge thereof, means to move them to and from the edges of the form and a clamp to hold the wood to be bent to the form in opposition to the action of the bending-arms, said clamp engaging two pieces of wood simultaneously near one end of each.

7. In a bending-machine, the combination of oppositely-placed bending-arms, means to temporarily support the material to be bent between them, mechanism to reciprocate these arms in a rectilinear direction, machinery to operate this mechanism and intermediate means actuated by the bendingarms to control the operation of the machinery mentioned.

8. In a bending-machine, the combination of a general machine-frame, oppositelyplaced bending-arms, means to temporarily support the material to be bent between them, racks on which these bending-arms are carried, guiding means for them provided on the machine-frame whereby they are supported parallel to each other, gearing to move these racks in either direction, machine elements to operate this gearing, levermanipulated means to control this operation and means actuated by the bending-arms to operate the lever mentioned.

9. In a bending-machine, the combination of a general machine-frame, oppositelyplaced bending-arms, means to temporarily support the material to be bent between them, racks on which these bending-arms are carried, guiding means for them provided on the machine-frame whereby they are supported parallel to each other, a pinion in engagement with each rack to move them simultaneously, reversible machinery to rotate this pinion in either direction, a clutch to control this machinery, an operatively-connected lever to manipulate this clutch, a shifter-rod to move this lever and means controlled by the movement of the bendingarms to act upon this shifter-rod.

In testimony whereof we hereunto afliX our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.-

CHARLES H. OLOSTERMAN. GEORGE J. KUEHNLE.

Witnesses C. SPENGEL, C. MEYER. 

